One for the Other
by Phoenix Dysis
Summary: Grimmjow and Ulquiorra both have problems concentrating, but it isn't until a cat comes between them that they realize that the other is both the problem and the solution.  Rated M for Language and suggestive scenes, just to be safe. No smut, sorry!
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

"Tch." Grimmjow wiped the trickle of blood from the corner of his mouth. Defeated again. He reiterated his annoyed "tch" as he stood up, wincing at the pain in his thigh. He looked down at the gaping wound. He would have to visit Szayel later to get something to heal that. He looked up at Ulquiorra through the dust. The waves of heat rising off of the desert sand made him look as if he was only half there. Ulquiorra was unscathed, still wearing the same nihilistic expression.

Ulquiorra started to walk away, sheathing his blade. He muttered a simple word: "Trash." Grimmjow just barely heard it, but it was enough for him to launch another attack, rage blocking the pain. Grimmjow slashed at Ulquiorra's back, but he wasn't there anymore. Ulquiorra appeared behind Grimmjow, and Grimmjow quickly spun around to block an attack that never came. Grimmjow's eyes widened as he felt a gentle flick on his forehead. Ulquiorra was staring into his eyes, the same face as always, showing nothing. In his monotone voice, he informed Grimmjow that he was "too injured to continue fighting" and that he "was going to go inside and read instead of messing around out here." Grimmjow slumped to the ground, shocked. Ulquiorra had just insulted him, but he felt as if he had just told him that he was worried for his health. Confused, he sat there in a trance.

"Ah! Ulqui!" Grimmjow broke out of his daze and turned around to find that Ulquiorra was already gone. He looked at the sand. The bland white sand splotched with his crimson blood. He needed to go get that taken care of. He slowly rose to his feet and sheathed his sword, padding off to Szayel's room to get some ointment. He didn't regenerate instantly like Ulquiorra could.

"Really Grimmjow, you should take care of your body more. I'm sure it would make an excellent specimen if you'd only adhere to proper maintenance procedures."

"Shut up Szayel; just fix my leg before I rip your jaw off."

"Oh, testy are we? Ulquiorra beat you up again? Did he call you 'trash'? Did it hurt poor little Grimmy-chan's feelings?" Szayel smirked at Grimmjow. He knew that Ulquiorra was a weak spot, even if Grimmjow himself didn't realize that fact. Or, rather, refused to acknowledge it. Call it what you will, pattern recognition, woman's intuition, or anything of the sort; Szayel _knew_ that Grimmjow loved, in some form, Ulquiorra; that arrancar who was stoic, monotone, and overall much too skinny and pale for Szayel's tastes.

"Szayel" Grimmjow growled in warning.

"Calm down, kitty-chan, I'm just playing, you know that."

"Whatever. Just hand over the damned ointment."

Grimmjow flopped on his bed. His wound felt much better. Surprisingly, as time went on, he wouldn't get as injured when he sparred with Ulquiorra. Grimmjow knew he was getting stronger! He _was_ going to beat Ulquiorra someday. An hour passed and he was still lying there, wide awake. _Tch._ If he couldn't fall asleep he would have to go wander the halls like he did every night. The only things that seemed able to actually calm his mind were his spars with Ulquiorra. In the heat of battle, Grimmjow's mind went numb. All emotions left him, all that was left was an instinct to fight to survive, to _win_. To beat the opponent in front of him, to become utterly dominant over the other's life, Grimmjow was filled with the desire to see the pain on the bloodied face of his enemy before the life left his eyes forever. Grimmjow's feral grin was plastered on his face as he sauntered through the halls, daydreaming.

Ulquiorra sat on the edge of his bed, reading the same sentence in his book over and over, unable to concentrate. Sighing, he placed his book back on the bed stand and stood up. _Maybe some fresh air will clear my mind..._

Ulquiorra wandered through the hallways aimlessly; always at the same pace, always with the same expression. The same face covering the roiling emotions inside his soul. Ever since that last spar with Grimmjow, Ulquiorra couldn't calm down. Anyone who wasn't paying attention would have easily missed it: a twitch here, a small sigh there, or just that he never even turned the pages of his book anymore. The endless hallways stretched on and on, offering no relief from Ulquiorra's persistent thoughts. Thoughts of a certain blue-haired man, his blood dripping to the sand like drops of crimson, the look in his eyes fierce with bloodlust. Ulquiorra shivered slightly at the recollection. He rounded a corner and saw a flash of blue before bumping into a tanned chest. Ulquiorra looked up, his eyes slightly wide before he gained control, and groaned inwardly. _Oh speak of the devil…_

Grimmjow looked down at the man that he had been thinking about slicing up just moments before. Neither one of them moved. Ulquiorra was standing a breath away from Grimmjow's exposed chest. Why didn't he ever wear anything except this damned open jacket? Grimmjow was half tempted to grab that face looking up at him with its blank expression and try to make it show _something;_ fear, pain, disgust, anything but that perpetual nothingness. Grimmjow's head lowered a fraction subconsciously, before realizing what his body's intentions were. He took a step back, running his hand through his hair while looking at the opposite wall. Grimmjow suddenly felt very awkward in Ulquiorra's presence. His eyes were pulled back to the smaller man when he heard him suddenly speak.

"Your leg…"

"What?"

"How is it?" Ulquiorra asked quietly. If Grimmjow hadn't known any better, he would have thought that Ulquiorra felt as awkward as he did. Right now Grimmjow just felt the need to get out of there, out of Ulquiorra's presence before he got himself killed.

"Eh uhm, it's good…" He stuttered while taking another step back. He really didn't want to die yet. He still hadn't become the king! Ulquiorra made a noise of acknowledgement before turning and walking away. Grimmjow stopped and stared at the retreating back. _What was that all about?_

Ulquiorra made it back to his room quickly. His walk had achieved the opposite of what it should have. He couldn't even think correctly, let alone focus on anything. _His skin had felt so… warm…_ Ulquiorra had just wanted to stand there, bathing in the Sexta's reiatsu. That is, until Grimmjow had stepped back. Ulquiorra had felt embarrassed that he hadn't just brushed off the lower Espada like he normally would have. Then he felt like he had to fill that silence… that dreaded oppressive silence… But the words that stumbled from his mouth had sounded forced and worse than if he had just let it be. He was sure Grimmjow could feel it too, the air around them constricting until Ulquiorra just wanted to _run_ from there.

Grimmjow slumped against the wall of his room. How had he even gotten back? He couldn't remember, perhaps his legs had subconsciously taken him. It didn't matter. He could still feel Ulquiorra's warm breath against his chest; he could still see those green eyes looking up at him, almost void of expression. He was still thinking about what he may have simply imagined floating through those eyes—surprise at first, but then a kind of content warmth. Ulquiorra's eyes were never _warm_. Grimmjow shook his head. He was thinking about this too much. He needed to kill something to clear his mind. He headed to the door then stopped, shaking his head. _What if I run into him again?_ Grimmjow snorted and opened his door. _If that happens then I'll just have to take him outside and kick his ass._

After killing about a dozen hollows, Grimmjow felt his mind start to clear. He sighed, dealing the killing blow to a serpentine neck. That was enough; now to go back in, take a hot shower, change, and take a nap before the goddamned morning meeting. He was almost back inside the walls when he heard a muffled noise coming from a small lump on the sand a few feet away. Curious, Grimmjow sauntered over to see what it was. A small bundle of bloody fur was lying on the sand, barely breathing. Grimmjow's eyes narrowed before he turned to walk away.

"Tch. Weak piece of shit."

"Mew…"

The pitiful noise was enough to pull Grimmjow back to the bloodied hollow. Before he knew it, he was cautiously walking through the halls, carefully clutching the wounded animal to his chest. He didn't want anyone to see this weak side of him. Once he was in his room, he laid it down on a clean towel and rubbed some of the healing ointment he had gotten from Szayel earlier on the slash across the animal's side. He looked at the small clock on his wall. _Damn. Ten minutes._ Grimmjow put a small dish of water near the animal and went to quickly wash the blood off his skin. He changed quickly and walked out the door, only sparing a small glance back to make sure the cat was still breathing. Closing his door he sauntered to the meeting, still worrying about his new responsibility.

Throughout the morning meeting Ulquiorra noticed that Grimmjow looked anxious. Normally the man just looked bored as hell, and towards the end, angry that it wasn't over yet. This time he kept looking at the small clock and tapping his fingers. Was he worried about something? Ulquiorra snapped back to what Aizen was saying. He should be paying attention. He didn't want to get caught off guard. Thirty more minutes passed until Aizen dismissed them. Grimmjow was the first out the door and Ulquiorra cocked an eyebrow slightly. Grimmjow was practically running back to his room. It piqued Ulquiorra's interest, and he decided to follow him. _Besides, there is a perfectly logical route back to my room that would take me past the Sexta's quarters._ Ulquiorra's thoughts smirked. With a blank face, he started off on the "scenic route" to his room.

The door flew open and shut just as quickly. Grimmjow rushed to the small animal still huddled on the towel and sighed in relief. _It's still alive…_. Grimmjow checked its wound, and noted the progressive healing. _Szayel does have some pretty damn good salve._ The cat seemed to be in less pain, its breathing wasn't as shallow, and its eyes were open a little, taking in the room around it. Grimmjow hunched on his bed. He didn't even know if it was a he or a she; let alone what to call it. He sighed, got up and went to check. Female. _Why the hell is the only name coming to mind "Nyan-chan"?_ "Tch. Sorry to give you such an embarrassing name, Nyan-chan." Grimmjow smiled a little. At least she wasn't an "it" anymore. Besides, nobody would know he had her, right?

Nyan-chan mewled and Grimmjow was startled out of sleep, unused to her making noise. He looked over towards where he had left her and there was nothing there. He sat up, worried, before he noticed the glowing golden-green eyes staring at him from the foot of his bed. He grinned. "Yer probably hungry, aren'tcha?" A mew in response made Grimmjow chuckle. "Hold on hold on, I'm getting up."

Grimmjow walked to the small alcove where he kept his food. Tearing off a bit of meat and pouring some milk into a bowl, he set it back near the water and the towel. Nyan-chan jumped up and started to hungrily devour the meat, and only when she was done with that, eagerly lap at the cool, delicious milk. Grimmjow climbed back into bed and rolled over, happy that she was doing well. His eyes widened. Litter box. He looked over at Nyan-chan politely sitting near her now-empty food dish and his eyes narrowed suspiciously. He got up and grabbed a cardboard box. _The hell do I put in it?_ He stood there for a while, looking at it. _Sand._

After a rather awkward walk to outside Las Noches with a cardboard box, and then an even more awkward walk back inside with a box full of sand, Grimmjow was exhausted. Thank goodness it was nearly midnight, or else Grimmjow was sure that he would have gotten weird looks. He climbed back into bed, only to find a happily purring mass of fur lying next to him. Grimmjow fell asleep to the rhythmic sound. _G'night Nyan-chan…_.

Ulquiorra lay awake on his bed, thinking about what he had heard when he passed Grimmjow's door. _Sorry to give you such an embarrassing name, Nyan-chan_. It almost made Ulquiorra giggle. _Almost_. Did he get a _cat_? And name her _Nyan-chan_? The very idea of Grimmjow even calling _anything_ with "chan" made Ulquiorra chuckle. He had to see it. He closed his eyes, finally falling into a deep sleep, dreaming of Grimmjow playing with kittens.

Waking up to a pair of goddamn green-gold eyes looking straight at you was not a good way to start the morning. Grimmjow almost jumped. He narrowed his eyes as Nyan-chan purred triumphantly. "Fine. I'll get you breakfast." Nyan-chan hopped off the bed and sauntered to her dish, patiently waiting. Grimmjow got up and grumbled. He would have to get some dry food or something that he could leave out all the time. Or sick her on some hollow mice. He fed her, and fed himself, and then looked at the clock. Cursing, he jumped into the shower. He was going to be late again this morning.

A/N GRIMMY-KINS NEEDS AN ALARM CLOCK.

Okay, so I was going to put " "Bless you," Gin mumbled absent-mindedly, handing Aizen a tissue." Right after Ulqui thinks "Speak of the devil" but then I took it out in editing. It was too awkward… SO YOU GETS IT IN THE A/N (Cause I love it too much~)


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Grimmjow grumbled his entire way back from the meeting. He had walked in almost ten minutes late, and Aizen had called him out on it. Everyone had looked at him while he walked to his seat. He hated the prickling feeling between his shoulder blades of that many eyes staring at him. It wasn't his _first_ time being late either, so they should all be used to it, right? But normally he's not ten minutes late. Maybe he should have just stayed in his room. The entire meeting was extremely boring anyways. Still talking about defeating the shinigami, creating more arrancars, how far along the plan was, how the Espada should trust nobody, get stronger, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. Grimmjow zoned out until he heard the matter-of-fact "Dismissed" and heard chairs scraping and feet shuffling to get out the door. As soon as he got into the hallways he perked up. _I get to go see Nyan-chan._ He mused to himself about what he would do. He would get some string maybe and play, or pet her, or maybe just sit there… He paused his train of thought, thinking it unmanly and weak. Then he realized that he didn't care. He did indeed enjoy Nyan-chan's company, and she helped him relax without getting bloody, sweaty, and tired. It was a good deal. He stopped outside his door. It was _open_. He pushed past it and quickly checked his room. High. Low. Behind. Under. She was nowhere. Nyan-chan was gone.

Ulquiorra was walking back to his quarters when he was startled by a noise behind him.

"Mew"

"Nyan-chan, I presume?"

Nyan-chan purred and rubbed against Ulquiorra's legs. He picked her up, gently stroking her head and scratching her ears. He smiled slightly. "Let's mess with Grimmy a little, ne Nyan-chan?" Agreement flashed through her mischievous eyes. Ulquiorra carried her to his room and set her down on the bed, flopping down next to her. He scratched under her chin and sighed. Nyan-chan purred and closed her eyes contently. "Ne, Nyan-chan, what's it like living with Grimmjow? He obviously takes care of you. Sometimes I just think that he puts on that "bad-boy" façade to make everyone think he's tougher than he really is. I don't really blame him for wearing that mask though… After all, we've all got our own masks on." He looked over at Nyan-chan sprawled on the bed purring. "And not just our literal masks, either." Ulquiorra found his eyes closing, and soon he was asleep.

Grimmjow stood in front of the door. _The trail really couldn't end _here_, could it?_ He lifted a fist to knock on the door with a Gothic four painted on it… _Nyan-chan wouldn't be in Ulquiorra's room… would she?_ With a small sigh he knocked quietly.

Ulquiorra woke up to a paw on his chest. Nyan-chan was staring at his face and twitching her tail. Then he heard the knock and felt the reiatsu from outside his door. _Ah. Grimmjow's here_. He stood up and smoothed out his clothes. A surprised Grimmjow met his gaze as the door was opened. "Do you have business with me, _Sexta?_" Ulquiorra asked coldly. Grimmjow's gaze went from Ulquiorra's face to behind him when there was a small mewl from the bed. Ulquiorra rolled his eyes when Grimmjow wasn't looking. _Way to go, Nyan-chan, I could have kept him going for a while._ Ulquiorra turned and headed to the bed. "I thought you wanted to mess with him too, why did you meow so quickly?" Nyan-chan just flopped onto her side and purred. Without even realizing it, a pale hand stretched out to ruffle through her soft fur.

Grimmjow could not believe what he was seeing. Ulquiorra was being kind. To _his_ Nyan-chan. He didn't even know _why_ Ulquiorra _had_ her in his room in the first place! And he seemed to know that Grimmjow was going to come looking for her… What exactly did Ulquiorra know, and how did he know it? Grimmjow sighed. "Can I have my cat back then?" He didn't even know why he was asking instead of just grabbing his cat and leaving. Ulquiorra turned and looked at him.

"I don't see why you can't take Nyan-chan."

Grimmjow stopped. "H-how did you…?"

"I was passing your door when you named her. It fits her quite well though. It's… cute." Ulquiorra looked thoughtful for a moment, tilting his head slightly to the side, and then he looked back at Grimmjow. "Well?" Grimmjow took a step forward and Nyan-chan sat up. She hopped off the bed and rubbed between Grimmjow's legs, tripping him. _The hell you trying to do, Nyan-chan? Humiliate me?_ Grimmjow stood up and Ulquiorra was looking down at him, something akin to humor in his eyes.

"What, you think that was funny?"

"Why yes, Grimmjow, I do."

"Tch. You won't laugh at me after I kick yer ass, ya know."

Ulquiorra picked up a purring Nyan-chan and sat on his bed. "She's quite a trouble-maker; running away from you, tripping you, and purring the whole time. A regular trickster." He chuckled under his breath.

Grimmjow was stunned. Normally the stoic man didn't say this much, and he was showing about a month's worth of emotion in this one sitting. Grimmjow's mind was about to implode with shock. Grimmjow picked up Nyan-chan out of Ulquiorra's lap, and turned around to leave. Nyan-chan nimbly jumped out of his arms, leaving a lovely scratch on Grimmjow's hand. Grimmjow let out a small hiss at the sting. He could get cut by a sword and not blink an eye, but a cat's claws _stung_. He eyed Nyan-chan as she strolled over to Ulquiorra and jumped back on his lap, purring, almost beckoning Grimmjow over with her tail. "What, you abandoning me now, after I saved your life? You ungrateful animal." Grimmjow turned to leave without her, but he stopped before he even reached the door. How was he supposed to sleep like this? Every single other night he had had to go out and kill something to sleep, or wander the halls until he was too exhausted to think, but last night just a simple purr made him sleep like a child. He turned around to look at Nyan-chan. Her eyes were closed, but she cracked one open and stared back at Grimmjow, almost taunting. "Goddamn it." Grimmjow sighed. "Ulquiorra, can I sleep here tonight? I'm worried about Nyan-chan. She was practically dead yesterday, and she's my responsibility."

"Sure, Grimmjow." Ulquiorra smirked slightly. _What was Nyan-chan up to?_ If he didn't know any better, he would have thought that this was what Nyan-chan wanted. A _sleepover_.

"Hey, toss me a pillow, wouldja?"

Ulquiorra silently tossed a pillow and an extra blanket to Grimmjow, who would be sleeping on the floor for the night. Nyan-chan would sleep wherever she wanted to, and Ulquiorra would of course be sleeping in his own bed. Ulquiorra came out of the bathroom in his pajamas to find Grimmjow stripping down to his underwear. "What do you think you're doing?"

Grimmjow looked over. "I sleep like this. It's more comfortable."

Ulquiorra rolled his eyes. "You're going to get cold like that."

"Quit yer bitchin', I'll be fine."

A/N: Nyan-chan is so manipulative! What is she thinking, making the boys have a sleepover? And how did she get so well so fast? Szayel has some DAMN GOOD SALVE that's what. Anyways, if you find anything wrong with this, please feel free to review! I had lost internet this weekend due to the weird snowstorm (not power, JUST internet. Stupid college), so what did I do with my time? I revisited a word document with a couple GrimmUlqui fic ideas. One was a drabble (which I'll probably just add as a bonus chapter when I'm done…) and then there was the first fight scene thing with a note (could be a story?) and a little [Hollow kitty!] except Ulquiorra was going to find it at first… and… I don't know… Grimmjow found it and it works? THIS STORY IS WEIRD AND STEMS FROM BOREDOM AND NO INTERNET. This all probably should have gone onto the first chapter's A/N BUT I'm bored right now because I was taking a break and watching Hercules, and then RIGHT when it got to the part where Meg was going to sing (and I always sing along), my roommate got a phone call… She's still on the phone… and she probably will be for a while… Roar! Anyways, I should let all you lovely people go. The third chapter should be up soon as long as I'm not finishing Hercules… Or doing my homework like I should be doing :D (Edit: Finished Hercules and then edited this chapter… So… homework times?)


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

_Mmm… so warm…_ Ulquiorra hummed to himself in his half-awake daze. He could hear some rhythmic sound, putting his mind at ease. _Nyan-chan must have come on the bed sometime last night_. The last Ulquiorra had seen of her, she was silently perched on top of a dresser. Ulquiorra reached out a hand to pet her without opening his eyes. When his fingers touched something that was most definitely _not_ fur, he cracked open an eye and pulled back. He was met by the peaceful face of a sleeping Grimmjow, much too close for comfort. Ulquiorra's eyes widened, panicking, Ulquiorra scooted to the very edge of the bed. _Calm down, Ulqui… He probably didn't come up here on his own. He probably got cold and climbed up. Stupid Sexta, I told him-!_ Ulquiorra stopped all train of thought when he realized something. Nyan-chan was still on top of the dresser, sleeping peacefully. This sound was coming from Grimmjow. He was _purring_. Ulquiorra smiled softly to himself. It was oddly endearing, but ultimately it was something he could throw back at the man. The Sexta was so fun to tease sometimes.

Ulquiorra carefully got out of bed, not disturbing the other man. He decided to take a shower and _then_ inform Grimmjow of his current predicament. A wonderfully warm and relaxing twenty minutes later, Ulquiorra was clean and changed. He smiled before replacing his stoic mask. "Grimmjow," he said loudly, to wake the sleeping man, "what do you think you're doing?" Grimmjow opened his eyes and realized where he was. He tried to get up so fast that he fell to the ground, his legs tangled in the sheets. While suppressing both a wince for the poor sheets that he would have to reset, and also a laugh at the comical nature of Grimmjow's awakening. He was only half successful, as he let out a low chuckle which earned him a glare from a very awake and in pain Grimmjow.

Grimmjow detangled himself and stood up, readjusting his boxers. Ulquiorra had forgotten that the man had slept like that. _Wait. HE WAS ALMOST NAKED AND IN MY BED? I need to wash my sheets. Badly._ Suddenly quite angry at the prospect of cleaning something that he had just cleaned the day before, he decided to bring up the little subconscious habit that Grimmjow had. "May I ask why you were in my bed?"

"Tch. I don't know. I just woke up when you yelled at me."

"Grimmjow, you probably found yourself cold and on the floor at some point last night and subconsciously climbed into my bed. I do not like to wake up that way, Grimmjow. It was quite unsettling."

"Unsettling? Getting yelled at and falling off the bed is way more unsettling than wakin' up to my face." Grimmjow smiled slightly, lips twitching in anger.

"The unsettling part was your purring, Grimmjow."

"What?" The smile was gone. The anger was gone. Grimmjow's face was blank except for shock and embarrassment.

"You purr in your sleep, Grimmjow."

"You sure it wasn't Nyan-chan?"

"She was still lying on the dresser where she is now. I'm sure it was you, Grimmjow. Do you want proof? My eye can prove it."

"No. But if you _ever_ tell _anyone_ about it, I will beat you until you're a bloody pulp, then let you regenerate and beat your face in over and over and over again."

"Noted." Ulquiorra walked to the door and opened it. "By the way, Grimmjow, you might want to get dressed. The meeting starts in five minutes."

"_SHIT_" Grimmjow hurriedly pulled on his hakama, jacket, and shoes. He ran to the door, strapping Pantera to his belt as he made it out the door and caught up to Ulquiorra. Halfway through the meeting he realized that he hadn't shut Ulquiorra's door. _Nyan-chan, PLEASE be there when I get back…_

Grimmjow had rushed into Ulquiorra's room, looking about frantically for Nyan-chan. _She had better not have run away again…_

"Grimmjow."

"What?" Grimmjow kept looking around—under the bed, behind the curtains, in the bathroom.

"She's the same place she's been all morning." Grimmjow looked where Ulquiorra had indicated. Sure enough, Nyan-chan was sitting at the top of the dresser, cleaning her paws. The twinkle in her eye indicated an amused smirk at Grimmjow's worrying.

"Tch. Stupid cat." Grimmjow muttered under his breath, voice full of relief.

"Next time just close the door properly, and you won't have to worry."

"Whatever." Grimmjow nudged Nyan-chan into his arms and scratched her under her chin. "How come you run away from my room, but you stay in here even though the door is wide open?" Nyan-chan opened an eye and tilted her head to the side. Grimmjow sighed. "Please don't scratch me again this time, but I'm taking you back to my room." Nyan-chan looked up at him and then rested her chin on his arm. Without another word or even a backwards glance towards Ulquiorra, Grimmjow strode cautiously out of the room, watching Nyan-chan warily. With the door closed behind him, Grimmjow made his way down the halls towards his own quarters.

Ulquiorra looked at the closed door and sighed. He was alone again. Before he had always liked being alone, it was calm, peaceful. There was nobody there to betray you or hurt you. But now the silence that had once comforted him seemed altogether _lonely_. Ulquiorra's lips tilted slightly with sadness. Just a little quirk at the corners, but it was enough. All the memories of the pain and loneliness from before came back and the marks on his face suddenly burned. A single wet drop made a dark spot on the floor. He wiped his eyes; _enough of that_. He rounded up all his emotions, carefully making sure that none escaped, and locked them in his ages-old Pandora's Box. The nihilistic mask in place once again, Ulquiorra set about the task of cleaning his room. Once there wasn't even a tiny fragment of proof that any other living thing had been in that room, he flopped on his bed. Staring at the ceiling, he slowly drifted into a dreamless sleep of nothingness.

Grimmjow sat on his bed and watched Nyan-chan. Nyan-chan sat by the door and watched Grimmjow. They were in a perpetual battle of patience, and Nyan-chan was winning. She seemed to be taunting him. Grimmjow could almost hear her in his head saying "Come on, I _know_ you want to go back there. And I'm going to win this anyways. You never _were_ one to be patient." Grimmjow scoffed and replied out loud to the imaginary voice. "Fine. You win. We can go back and _hang out_ with Ulquiorra for a bit. But I am _not_ sleeping there again." Nyan-chan twitched her tail happily, as if in victory. Grimmjow grabbed a bit of food and opened the door. Nyan-chan trotted halfway down the hall and looked back at Grimmjow, twitching her tail, as if saying "Are you coming or not?" Grimmjow sighed and started after her.

Nyan-chan made it to Ulquiorra's room first, pawing at the door and meowing. When nothing happened she looked towards Grimmjow, almost commanding him to get the door to open. Grimmjow sauntered up and knocked on the door. When there was no answer he tried the knob. It was unlocked, so he pushed it open slowly, calling out for Ulquiorra; still no answer. He walked in and blinked a couple times for his eyes to adjust to the darkness of the room. It smelled extremely clean, which made Grimmjow's nose twitch, he was much more used to _some_ sign of inhabitance. He noticed the lump on the bed that must have been Ulquiorra, but he was still fully dressed, and his legs were hanging off the edge of the bed. For goodness sakes, the man's _shoes_ were still on! Grimmjow sighed and shook his head. What had happened in the brief two hour span that Grimmjow was gone? Grimmjow knew that Ulquiorra thought he was 'trash' but this amount of cleaning couldn't be because of that. If it were that bad, Ulquiorra never would have let him _into_ his room, let alone stay the night. Grimmjow closed the door and Nyan-chan padded over to the bed, eyes glowing in the dark. Grimmjow whispered "Hey, Nyan-chan, don't wake him up okay?" She looked back and him and blinked in agreement, walking instead to her favorite spot: on top of the dresser.

Ulquiorra woke up to an odd sound. _Is that… the shower?_ He didn't remember taking one before he lied down, so he couldn't have left it running. He looked around and noticed a pair of green-gold eyes staring at him from on top of the dresser. _Nyan-chan? Does that mean that Grimmjow is in the shower? I thought they left earlier…_. While he was still lying there wondering, the tap turned off. There was a little bit of noise in the bathroom, and then the door opened. Ulquiorra closed his eyes at the sudden light, but opened them a moment later, only to watch a very _wet_ Grimmjow walk into the room with only a towel wrapped around his waist. Grimmjow turned when he heard the gasp that Ulquiorra didn't even know he had let out. "Grimmjow! What are you _doing_?" He couldn't mask the surprise in his voice.

Grimmjow just grinned, "Well Nyan-chan made me come back here, and then you were asleep, and since the rest of your room was clean I gave her a bath, and she decided to completely soak my clothes. They're drying in the bathroom right now, and I didn't bring a spare." He shrugged, palms towards the ceiling; the towel at his waist threatened to fall off before he regained his hold on the edge of it.

Ulquiorra was shocked, but by no means angry. Somehow, he felt worse not having this uncouth man in his room, even though part of him didn't want anything to do with Grimmjow. He shook his head to get rid of the unnecessary thoughts. Grimmjow was here, in a towel, and he couldn't do anything about it, so he had better make the best of it. Ulquiorra sat up and noticed the sad state that his clothes were in. They were quite wrinkled and covered with the dust and grime that he had been cleaning. When he tried to rub it off, the grime only clung to his hands, and the dust clouded a bit before settling on his face and in his hair. Ulquiorra stood up. His feet screamed with discomfort. Why had he slept with his _shoes_ on? He vaguely remembered the emotional breakdown that he had had and sighed. He needed this grime off and a great way to do that _and_ calm his mind, while slowly re-opening his mind to the ideas of emotions, without sadness and betrayal, would have to be a nice, long, hot shower. He walked to the bathroom, turning to Grimmjow, "I hope you left me some hot water."

Grimmjow looked over at him and smiled, replying jokingly, "I don't think so; Nyan-chan uses a whole hell of a lot of hot water." Nyan-chan, displeased, took a swipe at Grimmjow, just being able to reach enough to tease his hair a little. Grimmjow chuckled and grinned at Nyan-chan, eyeing her playfully. "Nice try."

A/N _Grimmjow was hoping that he had called her something else. Nyan-chan had run away again, and this time not to Ulquiorra's room. So there he was, walking around Las Noches and calling "Nyan-chan!" over and over. But then again, calling out "Stephanie!" wouldn't have been much better._ (Random stuff I think about while I'm writing… please don't kill me :D )

ANYWAYS! Please tell me if there's anything wrong with this. And please kick my ass into gear by reviewing! Seriously! And sorry about that one part where it got all dark, I seriously didn't know that that was going to happen…


	4. Chapter 4

(A/N: please tell me if you find any spelling/grammar/whatever errors. I decided "eff editing!")

Chapter 4

Ulquiorra turned off the tap and sighed. His mind felt a whole lot clearer now, and the emotional breakdown seemed like it was years in the past. After drying off his hair and body, Ulquiorra wrapped his towel around his waist and opened the door to the room, letting out a burst of steam in his wake. He casually strolled to his dresser, in between a staring match between Grimmjow, who was sitting on the foot of Ulquiorra's bed, and Nyan-chan, who was crouching on top of the dresser. Ulquiorra rolled his eyes. _Really, Grimmjow, a staring contest with a cat?_ Ulquiorra opened the dresser doors to grab some clothes, Nyan-chan's paws following. She fell off of the dresser, landing on Ulquiorra's bare chest, red gashes where her claws fell. Ulquiorra stumbled backwards and fell, a muffled "oof" coming from behind him. Ulquiorra's eyes widened. His back was flush with Grimmjow's chest, and it was _warm_. Ulquiorra blushed. He went to get up but Grimmjow's tanned arms wrapped around Ulquiorra's pale chest, holding him down. "G-Grimmjow?" Ulquiorra stuttered, his face turning a darker shade of pink. For the third time in twenty four hours, Ulquiorra asked "W-what are you doing?"

Grimmjow hugged Ulquiorra tighter. "I don't know. It just feels right." Grimmjow sighed, letting his body relax. It felt nice, holding the smaller man like this. He never would have thought of doing it, but his arms had acted on instinct, almost. There was also the subconscious desire to dominate over the man, especially in battle, but if he couldn't fight him, then he could at least have this, right? To have Ulquiorra in his arms was just as good, if not better.

Ulquiorra slowly relaxed. _Grimmjow _is_ warm… I guess I could lie here for a little longer…_ He closed his eyes and let everything go, he was calm, at peace, and he didn't even remember the pink tint that still stained his cheeks. Ulquiorra opened his eyes, and asked softly, "Grimmjow, will you let me go? Please?" The please was almost a breath, and it could barely be heard. Grimmjow sighed and loosened his grip. He figured that this would happen. And now Ulquiorra would order him to get out of his room, tell him to take his damn cat and never see him again, that they would never fight each other, never talk to each other, or anything. Grimmjow didn't quite know why, but it made him sad to think about. Grimmjow still stayed there, on the bed, while Ulquiorra got up. He was going to stay here until Ulquiorra commanded him to leave, and even then he wouldn't go without a fight… their last fight. Grimmjow was surprised by a piece of cool fabric hitting his chest. He sat up, confused.

"The hell are these?"

"They're boxers. Put them on."

"The hell for?"

"Because I'm tired, so we're going to go to sleep, stupid."

Grimmjow removed his eyes from the piece of black fabric, _silk boxers_. Why the hell did Ulquiorra have _silk _boxers? Instead, he watched Ulquiorra, who had already started changing. Buttoning the pajama shirt, Ulquiorra climbed past Grimmjow to the head of the bed and snuggled down under the covers. When Ulquiorra made eye contact with a very confused Grimmjow, he smiled and asked, "You sleeping here or not?"

Grimmjow grinned and stood up, dropping his towel and quickly sliding on the boxers. He practically pounced onto the bed, climbing in next to Ulquiorra. At first he kept his distance, taking in Ulquiorra's back, the glossy raven hair, the curve of his body; but then Ulquiorra scooted towards Grimmjow, who wrapped an arm around Ulquiorra's waist and pulled him once again flush, chest to back. Grimmjow snuggled his nose near Ulquiorra's neck, getting comfortable. Ulquiorra shivered slightly at the feel of Grimmjow's breath on his neck. But they both soon found themselves falling asleep to the other's rhythmic breathing.

Already back on top of the dresser, Nyan-chan curled up and purred for a job well done.

Ulquiorra opened his eyes. He felt the rise and fall of the chest in front of him, saw the relaxed face of Grimmjow in front of him, his hair every which way, and he heard that deep rumbling sound coming from somewhere within Grimmjow's chest. Ulquiorra blinked slowly, reveling in the warmth. Biting his lip and blushing at a sudden thought—no, not even a thought, a notion, an instinct, something that was half-formed yet would be acted upon—Ulquiorra leaned towards Grimmjow, lightly brushing the hair out of his face. He brought his lips to rest upon Grimmjow's for a brief second, softly, gently, almost ghosting, before pulling back. He felt Grimmjow shift, and his hand was caught in a vise-like grip. Grimmjow's eyes opened, a smirk plastered on his face for a second before he caught Ulquiorra's lips in a deeper kiss. Ulquiorra was too shocked to move, too shocked to fight back, so he stayed still for a second before melting and moving his lips along with Grimmjow's. As soon as he was breathless, Grimmjow pulled back, releasing a panting Ulquiorra's wrist and uttered two simple words, grin in place, "Good Morning."

Ulquiorra, still blushing, pulled away from Grimmjow, head reeling. Too much; it had been too much. Pushing the covers back and desperately searching his mind for some way out, he couldn't stay in this room with Grimmjow any longer. Looking at the clock he noted that there was twenty minutes until the meeting. _Odd… I normally wake up earlier_. He walked to the bathroom, however; twenty minutes was plenty of time for a quick shower. He paused at the door and turned around. "Grimmjow. Twenty minutes until the meeting, if you want to shower you should get back to your room fast."

Grimmjow looked at the clock and cursed. "There's not enough time for me to get back there and shower. Let me use your shower, wouldja?"

"There's not enough time for both of us to take a shower, Grimmjow."

"We can take one together, saves time and water that way. There's no way in hell I'm going to that meeting smelling like your room." _Nasty disinfectant smell._

"Grimmjow. I am _not_ taking a shower with you. And that is _final_."

"Yeah yeah, whatever. Go take your damned shower then." Grimmjow grumbled, rolling over. As soon as Ulquiorra wouldn't be able to see his face, Grimmjow's expression morphed from sulking to smirking. _This is gonna be fun._

Ulquiorra shut the bathroom door, turning on the hot water and stripping. As soon as the room startled to cloud with steam, he stepped into the spray, sighing. Hot water was definitely the best way to start a morning. He was so immersed in the feel of the slight sting that he didn't notice the door open slowly. He did notice, however, when the shower curtain was pulled back, and a grinning Grimmjow stepped behind him. "What do you think you're _doing?_" Ulquiorra asked, blushing. _How many times have I asked this question already? Four?_ Ulquiorra snapped out of random thought when Grimmjow reached behind him, grabbing the soap.

Smirking, Grimmjow started to clean himself. "Taking a shower, what does it fucking look like?" Pointedly ignoring Grimmjow, Ulquiorra squeezed some shampoo into his palm, rubbing it between his hands before working it onto his scalp. Deftly managing to wash his hair around his mask, he quickly reached the single problem spot in the back. He had to somehow contort his arms to read the hair below and under his helmet-like mask. "Here, let me help you with that." Strong fingers began to massage Ulquiorra's scalp. Dropping his arms to his sides, Ulquiorra melted into the wall. Grimmjow smiled, he had expected more resistance. Grimmjow finished much too quickly, to Ulquiorra's displeasure, and when he opened his mouth to complain, Grimmjow cut him off. "Rinse." Ulquiorra mumbled under his breath but did what he was told, turning around. He instantly regretted it, however, because he received an eyeful of tanned chest. It took everything he had not to glance downwards. Ulquiorra blushed and closed his eyes, trying to swallow the instincts that were pooling up from his stomach. Once his hair was sufficiently rinsed, Ulquiorra spun back around. Grimmjow smirked, finishing up soaping his own hair, pushing Ulquiorra forward with his body to gain access to the stream of water. Grimmjow abruptly pulled back, stepping out of the shower and drying off. He grabbed his clothes and left the small room, leaving a very stunned Ulquiorra behind, water still running. A moment later, Grimmjow popped his head through the door. "Five minutes." Ulquiorra blushed. _Right. The meeting._ He turned off the tap and dried off, retrieving clothes from the dresser, but not before shooing Nyan-chan away—he was not going through _that_ again. Grimmjow was lounging against the wall near the door, watching Ulquiorra dress and checking the clock every couple seconds. Once Ulquiorra was ready, Grimmjow opened the door and followed Ulquiorra out, firmly closing the door behind them and double-checking that it was shut tight.

By the end of the meeting, Szayel was sure of a few things. One, something was different with both Grimmjow and Ulquiorra. Two, he was pretty damn sure that Ulquiorra had been blushing this entire time, even if only slightly. And three, Grimmjow kept glancing towards Ulquiorra while Ulquiorra made sure to ignore him. Szayel smirked inwardly, _I bet someone's realized their feelings for the other, _he mused. He was going to make sure that he watched this play out.

Nyan-chan climbed back onto the dresser as soon as the two men left the room; morning meetings like always. She didn't understand _why_ they had to leave every morning. Mornings were for lounging. But at least there was some… progress… between the two. She could tell that they were supposed to be mates, but Arrancars were always so _stupid_. They chose reason over pure instinct! She was having fun though, watching these two in their idiotic ways. It was a lot better than wandering out in the sand, or even the strange place she was before that. She yawned and stretched, curling up near the wall. She had to wait another hour before her new favorite playthings came back home, so why not sleep? She drifted off into wonderful dreams of chasing prey.

A/N (Which is pretty much a running commentary!): I'm so mean to Ulqui… While writing that Ulquiorra was wrapping the towel around his waist I was thinking "Hurr it would be funny if Ulquiorra wrapped his towel like a girl." Then I face-palmed. Twice. Hard. AND THEN I HURT HIM. D': Yeah, and then we get to the lovely, cute, utterly cliché bit where Grimmjow wraps his arms around Ulquiorra because "it just feels right." Commence the stoning now, please, because it is Derpy, Derptastic, and as my roommate said "It's the Derpiest!" AND THEN WHEN GRIMMJOW WAS THINKING ABOUT DOMINATING I'M THINKING "If he couldn't pound Ulquiorra's face in, then he could at least pound him into a mattress" and then I was like NO. BAD PHEE. THAT'S AWKWARD ENOUGH IN YOUR HEAD, YOU DON'T HAVE TO WRITE IT. Sorry for you guys who thought there was going to be smut. There probably never will be. I feel waaaaaaaaay too awkward writing it… (But maybe if you're good and review then in a bonus chapter or later on or something? I don't know. You have to convince me, cause I'm a ho like that. If enough people demand it then I will probably write it, no matter how awkward it makes me feel, and how bad it sounds… it will probably be written…)

Okay, so I _know_ that cat's don't actually purr when they're asleep, they only purr when they're awake or at least half-awake. I know this. But I can bend facts, right? Like having effing cats and milk and whatnot in Hueco Mundo. And Showers. (If they have hollow kitties, they can have hollow cows for hollow milk, right?) Why do I say that I'm not going to write embarrassing things and then _write things that embarrass me?_ I need to be shot. Multiple times.

…I shouldn't be writing this in class… XD You see this shower scene? (from "Pointedly" to "shooing") BAM! Calculus. Really, I can imagine the boy next to me being all like "what are you writing?" and me, with a straight face, replying "Slash." I doubt he would know what I mean… :D Stupid calc getting in my way of writing. THIRD DERIVATIVE! Derp, ten minutes, then lunch, then MORE WRITING! (This has no place in here, sorry). HEY. I decided to give you cutesy things in the shower instead of what some of you were thinking was going to happen? Again, sorry to disappoint! AND NYAN-CHAN'S POV~ Yeeee~ (I have a lot of fun writing her personality. It is amusing. She's so manipulative! …I should figure out her backstory… damn… now I'm thinking about it a lot…)


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Long, thin fingers hit a few buttons on a metallic device. A fuzzy voice came through, _Yes, Szayel-sama?_ Thin lips tilted in a cold, scientific smile. "I need surveillance in both the Quatra's quarters, and the Sexta's quarters. Before they arrive back." The fuzzy voice came through again, _Right away, Szayel-sama_. A lilting laugh wedged its way through that smiling mouth. "Oh, this is going to be interesting."

"Grimmjow, go back to your room. You've worn the same clothes for three days now."

"Yeah, but they were washed!"

"It doesn't matter. Go put on some clean clothes and sleep in your own bed tonight."

"But Nyan-chan won't come down!"

"I'm sure you'll both be fine for _one_ night. It's not as if I'm going to brutally murder her while you're gone. Now get out."

Slowly, a dejected Grimmjow left the room, and Ulquiorra sighed. He wasn't sure how much that man was good for him. Sure he felt comfortable around the man most of the time, but those _other _times were hell, and he didn't know how long he could hold out before giving in to his base desires. Though he would _never_ admit it, even to himself, he subconsciously knew that he wanted the man. Pulling out a book, Ulquiorra decided that he should actually finish this novel, seeing as he had the rest of the day to himself. It was one that human females seemed to enjoy. It was about something called a "vampire" and another thing called a "werewolf." He really didn't understand what they were or what they had to do with the transition from day to night, but if it would teach him more about humans he would suffer through it. He finished the entire series and looked at the clock; still three more hours until his designated time for sleep. He leaned back and sighed. The novel had taught him nothing about human culture other than the silly things that teenage girls would obsess about. Gin had told him to look at something called "fanfiction" though, which would supposedly tell him even _more_ about what went on inside human's minds, but he didn't quite trust the fox-faced man. He looked up towards where Nyan-chan was sleeping and smiled. He had an idea that could potentially kill three hours….

The light from the monitor reflected in Szayel's wide eyes. One screen showed Grimmjow just lounging about, but what had caught his attention was the other one—Ulquiorra's room. The black-and-white screen displayed Ulquiorra sitting cross-legged on the floor, dangling what appeared to be something humans called "yarn" above a small animal, who was thrashing about. He would recognize that creature anywhere. He had considered her a failure; that manipulative bitch, _Stephanie_.

Nyan-chan rolled on the floor, trying to attack the small thing dangling in front of her. She knew that this brought the raven-haired man joy, she could read it. Not on his face, though it was there, Humanoid facial expressions were hard to read after all, but in his mind. Nyan-chan had to admit that she enjoyed it too. This thing called "playing" was foreign to her, but it was alright, she guessed. She chased after the elusive object bouncing away in front of her.

_She opened her eyes to bright lights and a feminine face. She was suddenly overcome with thoughts, things that were unreal to her, that seemed like she wasn't remembering them, but they were somehow injected into her mind. Once she regained control of her mind and these various thoughts, she could feel a sense of… pride… coming from the pink-haired man hovering over her. She was confused. Why could she feel the… emotions… of this man above her? His thoughts were not her own. She had a prickling feeling between her shoulder blades. Danger! She rolled off the table, a needle sticking where her neck had just been. She sniffed the air. It smelled burnt. Poisonous. That needle up there was indeed dangerous. She had to stay away from it. She looked over suspiciously as the pink haired man made a mark on his paper. He seemed… pleased… Suddenly, the pink haired man was crouched down, staring at her. He seemed to be trying to… say something… with his eyes… She faintly sensed… or heard somewhere in the back of her mind "Welcome to the world." She didn't know what it meant, but the injected thoughts that weren't quite her own told her that it was a good thing. That she should use a certain phrase… she tried to send back "Thank you." The man smiled and made another mark on his paper. He suddenly laughed quietly, which made her jump, he hadn't made noise up until then, she hadn't known he was capable of noise. She had another half-heard half-sensed thought itching at the back of her mind, "You're a success, Stephanie." She didn't know what she was a success of or for, but success is a good word._

_Months had passed and she had gained ownership of her knowledge, she had realized that this was what those half-hers thoughts were. She had also gained mastery of her telekinesis. She was able to hear and send thoughts and feel out other's emotions. Szayel was starting to hate her, she could feel it. She often caught snippets of thoughts. They were angry at her, calling her a "half-success" saying that her personality was flawed and that she was "a manipulative bitch." Yes, she had "manipulated"—she supposed that's what it was, she was simply using skills that Szayel-sama had given her—the fraccion into giving her things that Szayel-sama had told them not to. He had her on a strict diet, but the food had simply smelled so good that she couldn't resist asking politely for some. The fraccion didn't want to do it of course, so she would reason with them— yes, her logic was twisted sometimes, but the fraccion were stupid and accepted what she said without fault. She would snack happily on the decadent fish and meat that was supposed to be for Szayel-sama. Once he found out, however, he expressly told the fraccion to never give her anything that she asked for, no matter how well rounded her logic was. She was punished for that, and she didn't realize why. When the fraccion started to not pay attention to her, she began trying to wander around outside, for which she was locked in a small cage with all the other "failures." It was truly terrible, and she began to hate it there. One night, a particularly dense female fraccion walked past her cage. Stephanie tugged at her heartstrings, asking for just a little bit of time outside to stretch her legs, Szayel-sama would never have to know. Of course the fraccion let her out and she promptly ran as fast as her stiff legs could take her. The sniffed in contempt, the stupid thing had even left the door open. She made it outside of the lab, and continued to flee. Szayel would be able to find her inside. She ran until she was out of Las Noches and into the sands. The moon stared down at her, casting a twinkle of light in her eyes. Freedom. Finally, beautiful freedom; there was so much clean air that she could actually breathe! No formaldehyde, no disinfectants, no smell of death and decay. She looked back, the wind already masking her footprints. No one would find her now._

_She wandered for months. There was little to no food or water. Every living thing she encountered tried to attack her, most of the time she got away unscathed, other times she wasn't so lucky. She used everything she had just to survive. At one point she considered going back to the lab. She was almost starved; if someone had looked at her they could have counted all her ribs without even touching her. If they had pet her tail they would have been able to feel each individual vertebrae. She made it back to the only place where she was steadily fed—Las Noches. She was so weak that she didn't even notice the large hollow creep out of the sand. She continued walking; one paw slowly in front of the other paw, hardly making progress. She felt the sting of the claws as they ripped through her flesh, the hot, sticky blood coat her fur. She felt the wind pass her by as she flew through the air, only to land a few feet away with a sickening thud. She was delirious with the pain; all she knew was that she was going to die. She was only vaguely aware of another presence killing the predator hollow before she passed out, sure that this was her last time seeing the moon._

_She woke up a few minutes later, the smell of death still upon her. She slowly lifted her head as high as she could manage. The large hollow that had almost successfully killed her lay there, head severed from its animalistic shoulders. She could feel the blood still flowing from her wound and drying around the edges. She started to pull herself towards her only chance of life. Szayel-sama could heal her. He had the ability. It wouldn't be difficult at all for him. She dragged herself along the sand; with every pull she repeated her mantra. "Szayel-sama can save me." She kept going. She made it a few feet outside the walls when she collapsed, completely out of energy. She had been so close. She was sure she would die here. Szayel-sama wouldn't have healed her anyways. She was a failure. She was hated. She was destined to die from the very moment that Szayel had started to resent her. She closed her eyes, silently accepting her fate._

_She heard a noise; the soft sound of feet in sand. She felt his presence. He was the one who had killed the hollow before it killed her. He was strong! She tried to flee, but only managed to pick herself up and flop back down. The thing came over. She looked up at him. It was an Arrancar, like Szayel-sama. He seemed curious, but not bloodthirsty. He uttered something and walked away. She had to take this chance. She uttered the most pathetic and heart-wrenching sound she could make. A small mewl, like that of a kitten, yet full of pain and hope that he would take her in. She heard him shuffle back, and winced at the pain that came when he gently lifted her from her spot on the sand. She was saved._

_When she woke up after being healed, she tried to tell Grimmjow-sama "Thank you," but he didn't seem to receive her message. She tried again and again, but to no avail. She had suffered too much damage. She was disappointed that she wouldn't be able to use that skill anymore, but she was too happy to be alive to dwell on it too much. Besides, she had other ways to communicate. She decided that to repay this man who had been kind enough to save her; she would do anything she could to make him happy._

Ulquiorra looked back at the clock. He had spent almost four hours playing with Nyan-chan. He had lost track of time until she had lied down and refused to chase the elusive prey, choosing instead to glare at it. Ulquiorra sat up and tossed the string onto Nyan-chan's side. She quickly grabbed it and began chewing, tail twitching in victory and pure joy. With a yawn, Ulquiorra changed and slid into bed. He was _not_ disappointed that Grimmjow wasn't there. He really wasn't. Closing his eyes, he went to sleep, dreaming of Nyan-chan, string, and most of all, Grimmjow.

A/N: I just realized that I've had serious time gaps… They go to a morning meeting, and then I don't address what the hell happens after said meeting, and then suddenly it's like night time… Sorry if you didn't notice that and I totally ruined it for you, so I guess I'll write or allude to some things that they do during the day… Ulquiorra reads! A lot! Grimmjow lounges and kills things. He wanders the halls. I have no clue what they effing do during the day D: How do we even know it's daytime? ARTIFICIAL SKY! (Hey, if anyone can guess what book Ulquiorra's reading, and tell me why it's very cruel of me to do that to him [it's not that difficult] I'll give you a cookie and a hug :D ) [btw, I had to re-type "clock" several times because for some reason my 'l' button didn't want to work D': ] [I hope you realize that I'm writing the author's note as I'm writing the story, so it's a sort of running commentary… If you want to understand and can't remember, it's in chronological order, just for shits and giggles] OKAY, so if you read my last Author's note, or whichever the hell one I wrote that little thing about Grimmjow calling out "Nyan-chan" and I said "Stephanie!", I could _not_ get that name out of my head. SO. Stephanie makes another appearance… :P Her backstory makes me sad D':  
>OKAY! I hope that made sense to everyone… It makes sense to me.<p> 


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Szayel laughed, watching Stephanie launch herself onto the top of the dresser, curling up and falling to sleep. _This will certainly be very interesting… Ah Stephanie, no experiment of mine ever escapes… they always end up right where they started—on my lab table._

Stretching, Nyan-chan blinked and looked around; Ulquiorra was already gone. She looked at the clock. She didn't have any knowledge of clocks, and she didn't know how to read one, but it must have had something to do with the position of the black marks. Her boys were always gone when it was at this position. They should be back in twenty changes. She hopped down and jumped onto the bed, observing the room around her; nothing ever changed. She was always bored when they were both gone. Jumping off the bed and pacing, she wondered where Ulquiorra-sama had put the piece of string-prey. She heard the door open, and her ears perked up, they were home early! She trotted to the door and paused, her fur prickling up. This scent was wrong. This wasn't Ulquiorra or Grimmjow. This scent was somehow familiar… It took her a second to place it. _Szayel-sama!_ The white uniform of the fraccion was all she saw before there was utter darkness. Kicking around inside the bag she was in, she clawed, trying to get out, trying to escape, she needed to get out of here. Franticly scratching to no avail, Nyan-chan quickly grew tired. She stopped struggling, saving energy for when she would need it. She glared at the darkness.

Mere minutes later, Nyan-chan was gracelessly dumped from the sack onto a cool, metal table. The prickling sensation returned and she spun around. Fear filled her when a pair of glasses, glinting evilly in the light, and a manic smile emerged from the darkness. Her ears were pinned flat to her head, every hair standing on end, and she hissed. She backed to the opposite side of the table. There were fraccion surrounding her. She could _feel_ the evil intentions coming from Szayel-sama. No, he didn't deserve that title. He was only Szayel. She was no longer Stephanie; she was _Nyan-chan_. She _chose_ Grimmjow and Ulquiorra. Eyes shifting, looking for escape, she found an opening and leapt. Scratching the face of a shorter fraccion, she ran for the door, only to find it closed before she got there. Szayel looked down, eyes hidden by the glare of his glasses, and he showed his teeth in an almost-sneer. He was making fun of her fear, making fun of her pain. She ran to the other side of the room. No good; she was cornered. She crouched there, back to wall, and hissed, challenging anyone who tried to grab her. Szayel muttered a simple word, which launched a portly fraccion into action. "Gas."

Grimmjow followed Ulquiorra down the halls to the Quatra's quarters. Grimmjow nearly bumped into Ulquiorra, who had stopped suddenly. All of Grimmjow's happy feelings at seeing Nyan-chan again flew away instantly when he saw the open door. He ran inside looking around, "Ulquiorra! You left the _door_ open?" He looked in her favorite spots, frantically searching.

Ulquiorra stood there, shaking slightly. "Grimmjow," he said softly. He repeated himself, at a normal level. Grimmjow kept looking, not hearing that Ulquiorra was calling him. Ulquiorra drew a shaky breath, closing his eyes and clenching his fists. "Grimmjow!" he almost yelled.

Grimmjow spun around, "What the hell is it, Ulquiorra! I'm trying to look for my cat!"

"Can you please stop for a second. Feel this reiatsu, there was someone here."

Grimmjow paused. "Huh?"

"It's _Szayel's._"

Grimmjow's eyes grew fierce and he stormed through the doors. "If he did some sort of experiment on her, or hurt her in any way I'm gonna—"

"Calm down."

"No way in hell I'm calming down." Grimmjow pushed past Ulquiorra, heading towards Szayel's lab.

"Grimmjow…" Ulquiorra whispered, worriedly. He was as concerned about Nyan-chan's safety, too, but something wasn't right. Nobody should have known that there was a cat in this room. Plus, Ulquiorra was sure he had closed the door, he always made sure to check it when he left. He closed his eyes and sighed, starting to walk after Grimmjow. _This is not going to turn out well._

Nyan-chan blinked. She could feel the cold metal beneath her, and she tried to get up only to discover that she had been strapped down. Her head hurt. She didn't even remember hitting it. She had lost consciousness before she had even begun to fall. Nyan-chan took in what was around her. She was completely alone, for the moment. A door opened behind her, she couldn't see who came in, and they kept their emotions under tight reins, she couldn't sense a thing. She heard the cold tap of the person's shoes hitting the tiles. Tap. Tap. Tap. _Tap._ They echoed in the small room. Everything about this place was cold. The person finally rounded the table, she could smell him before she could see him. _Szayel_. She began to squirm. A sense of sick satisfaction washed over her and she shivered, struggling harder. She had to get out. He was going to kill her, but first he was going to do terrible things, she could feel it.

Szayel pulled out a syringe, "Well, Stephanie, seeing as you were only _slightly_ a failure and you were a very _bad_ kitty for running away from me like that, which is a derivative of your personality flaws, I'll just have to reset you. And to punish you, I'll let you witness the entire thing. You see this syringe here?" He tapped it, forcing any and all air bubbles to the top, then squeezing them out, "well, it's full of a paralytic. It'll only take away your movement so you don't hurt yourself unnecessarily." With a slightly sadistic smile set upon his face, Szayel descended upon Nyan-chan. "When you wake up, you'll be a _perfect_ Stephanie." Nyan-chan struggled harder. She had to get away from that needle, she could not under any circumstances let this happen. Resetting would make her a doll, a mere shell with facts and instincts, but no memories or free will. She would follow a perfect "Szayel-sama," and be "perfect" herself. She would have no knowledge of what she went through outside, no love and respect for Grimmjow and Ulquiorra, nothing. She didn't want that to happen. She didn't.

Szayel grabbed the scruff of Stephanie's neck, holding it for the injection. A prick. A squeeze. Nyan-chan could feel the cold liquid running beneath her skin, soaking in, spreading. It was so cold it burned. She yowled in frustration at the top of her lungs before her vocal cords were seized and she could make no more noise. Her paws stopped moving, only twitching involuntarily at the pain that still held her body. She couldn't move an inch. She could blink and breathe, that was all that was allowed. She wondered, was this what it was going to be like after she was reset? Simply blinking, breathing, going around doing her tasks like "Stephanie," unfeeling, unthinking? She couldn't stand it, but there was nothing she could do now. She was trapped by her own body.

Grimmjow burst into the lab belligerently, yelling "Szayel!" at the top of his lungs. He looked around, seeing no sign of the man. He had to be here around somewhere. That's when he heard it. A terrible noise, coming from somewhere in the back; it tugged at his heart. _Nyan-chan!_ He followed the noise, easily deflecting the fraccion who were trying to stop him. He had to find her. He ran through every door, only slowing slightly. He only ended up back in the room he had come from. He hadn't even turned any corners! Szayel was messing with him. Growling, Grimmjow stopped. He broke the door in front of him, then walked through. He continued, always taking the in-tact doors.

Ulquiorra walked calmly into the lab. He saw the broken door, shaking his head at the destructive nature of Grimmjow, but also praising the ingenuity. Szayel's lab was like a maze, and it could be changed around at will. It could not, however, regenerate without someone physically repairing it. Ulquiorra stepped past each broken door. Grimmjow would undoubtedly reach Szayel first, but Ulquiorra would be there in time to stop the Sexta from killing him. Ulquiorra was just as pissed off at Szayel, but he didn't let it control him.

Grimmjow made it. He broke down the final door, right as a scalpel was hovering over his precious Nyan-chan's head. She was strapped to a table, unmoving, eyes full of fear. Grimmjow glared at Grimmjow, storming over to him, rage in his blue eyes. Szayel put down the scalpel. "Now Grimmjow, let me explain something to you. This is—" He was cut off when Grimmjow's fist made contact with Szayel's nose, a satisfying crunch of cartilage could be heard echoing throughout the room. As Grimmjow readied himself for another strike, this time with Pantera, Ulquiorra stepped through the rubble of the broken door.

"Grimmjow," he said quickly in the sternest tone Ulquiorra had ever used with the man, especially recently. Grimmjow froze, then sheathed his sword, glaring daggers at Szayel, who was holding his face, blood dripping through his fingers and down his arm.

Grimmjow turned to the table, quickly untying the restraints and freeing Nyan-chan. In the meantime, Szayel had moved to a table and placed something over his nose. A second later the bleeding stopped, and the cartilage reformed. He stood a safe distance away from Grimmjow before continuing. "As I was saying, this is _Stephanie._ I created her about a year ago, for the purposes of surveillance. She was flawed. She escaped, and somehow you two picked her up. I'm simply reclaiming my experiment and fixing her."

Ulquiorra didn't know when he had done it, but he had Murciélago unsheathed and pointed at Szayel's throat. "I don't care what she was originally for. We will be taking her, as you have already deemed her a 'failure,' I doubt you will have any problems with that, _Octava_." Szayel cut his losses and shook his head. He valued his life much more than a single failed experiment. He narrowed his eyes, however, at the obvious pull of rank.

Grimmjow cut in as Ulquiorra sheathed Murciélago. "What the hell did you do to her, bastard?" Szayel adjusted his glasses, replying matter-of-factly, "It is only a paralytic to keep her from moving while I repaired her. It should wear off in about an hour." Grimmjow picked Nyan-chan up gingerly, and carried her towards the broken doors. He shot bitterly over his shoulder, "Hey Ulquiorra, think you could punch him again more me?" Ulquiorra turned and walked away from Szayel, "Sorry, Grimmjow, but I'm not controlled by rage like you are." Grimmjow almost chuckled bitterly, he really did want to cut Szayel to shreds for this, the bastard needed to pay for almost hurting his precious Nyan-chan. But at that moment, as he walked through the last door into the hallways, he was just glad that she was alright.

A/N: So I had no clue what was going to happen after I finished the fifth chapter… Then I was talking to my friend on Skype, and I was like "SZAYEL'S GONNA BE MEAN. I DON'T KNOW HOW BUT I KNOW HE IS." And I was talking to her and then all of a sudden I was like "OH GOD." And she was like "WHAT?" And I was like "I KNOW HAPPENS NEXT." Don't you love my "and _ was like" descriptions? I know you do, it's why you love me 3 BUT YEAH. SZAYEL'S A BASTARD. I HATE HIM. D: (And then she was like "You're a frackin' dork" and I was like "I know…" But she writes too, so she knows what it's about :D )

Wahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! I feel sorry for Nyan-chan. And I haven't even written anything yet. So far I'm right after Ulquiorra's thinking about how it doesn't feel right. And then my friend sent me a link to an article that Justin Bieber allegedly got this chick pregnant. And then I was telling my roommate (who doesn't care, apparently) about how I want to buy Mistress Penelopye's book. But it's like $16 and I would have to buy it online. I would need to use the credit card, and then my mom would be like "oh what's this" and I would have to explain, and I don't know how she would feel about it. ANYWAYS. This has nothing to do with my fic :D

Okay, so I didn't do mean terrible things to Nyan-chan, thank goodness, but I promise the fic won't end here! This didn't really go in any sort of direction that I had thought it would, and I don't know if it still qualifies as Romance/Humor as it was classified as at the beginning… What the hell is it now? I don't even know. Yeah, even I want more romance in here, so I guess I'll get to that in the next chapter… IT'S NOT OVER YET PEOPLE, I PROMISE!


End file.
